Species Profile
Species Profile at a Glance
Exploring Species Observations
The Species Profile provides the species taxonomic and ecological information, a list of datasets that observed this species and summary statistics. The map shows the distribution of the observations of the species. You can switch to [Points] map to see individual observations color-coded by dataset.
With the dataset list to the left of the map and under [Datasets] tab, you can pick your dataset(s) of interest and see the observations from that dataset(s) on the map. While the left-hand side list gives you a quick way to choose dataset, the list under [Datasets] tab gives you the complete information on the dataset.
You can also filter the observations by region of interest and time period.
If you would like to do your own analyses on this species, you can download all the observations or only observations that match your criteria (datasets, region of interest and time period).
Notes: You have to agree on the Terms of Use to download the data and ask the data providers for permission. The Terms of Use is presented when you switch to [Download] tab. Since the observations for a species come from various providers, it might be tedious to contact all of them. But it is required. OBIS-SEAMAP can't give you permission without consulting with the data providers.
Tutorials
| Movie Tutorials | |
|---|---|
| Introduction to Species Profile |
Soon |
| How to define your region of interest | 3' 00" |
| Play with temporally interactive chart | 3' 35" |
| Map environmental layers | 10' 00" |
Features & Functions
| Face | Feature | Description |
|---|---|---|
| (Default) | Identify | This function is available when no tool button is selected. If another button is selected, deselecting it enables "Identify." Click on the cell or point you want to get the information for. The popup window will come out, showing #observations in the cell or detailed observation information. Be patient as it may take the results several seconds to show. |
| Full extent |
Click the button to zoom to the full extent of the species observations. | |
| Zoom in |
To zoom in, you need to define a rectangle on the map where you want to zoom in. First click on the map to locate one of the two diagonal vertices of the rectangle. Release the mouse button and move the mouse to the other diagonal point. The red guiding line appears. Then click again to fix the rectangle. | |
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Draw region of interest |
A region of interest (ROI) takes a rectangular shape. First click on the map to locate one of the two diagonal vertices of the
rectangle. Release the mouse button and move the mouse to the
other diagonal point. The red guiding line appears. Then click again to fix the rectangle. The map is updated automatically, extracting observations in the ROI drawn. |
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Remove ROI |
To remove the region of interest (ROI), click the button and click on the ROI you want to remove. The map is updated automatically. |
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Transparency | Slide the bar to left (more opaque) or right (more transparent) to adjust the transparency of the region of interest. |
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Show/hide graph area |
Click the button (pale yellow background) to show and hide the graph area. The graph area may close automatically depending on your criteria. |
| Add environmental layer |
Add environmental layer to the map. The button opens a popup window where you can choose one of the environmental layers. See [Environment] tab for layers' availability. To learn more, watch the movie tutorial Map environmental layers. |
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| Explore with Google Earth |
Explore the dataset through Google Earth interface. Install Google Earth before using this feature. Google Earth on Windows and Mac are supported. |
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Switch b/w point observations and distribution map | Click the buttons to switch between point observations and distribution
map. The distribution map is color-coded by the number of observations
in the cell. The points are color-coded by dataset. See the
left-hand-side dataset list for colors. [Degree] button also tells you the current cell size, which depends on the current zoom level. |


